


Big Iron on her hip

by Useful_Oxymoron



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Western, Arizona - Freeform, Bounty Hunters, Discord: Bellamione Coven, Duelling, Established Relationship, F/F, Gunslingers, Massage, Old West, boston marriage, evil weasleys, schoolmarm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:02:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24740494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Useful_Oxymoron/pseuds/Useful_Oxymoron
Summary: After a long, dangerous trip through the Arizona desert hunting outlaws, there's nothing more a tired bounty hunter would want than to fall into the loving arms of the woman she loves.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Bellatrix Black Lestrange
Comments: 14
Kudos: 125





	Big Iron on her hip

**Author's Note:**

> Based loosely around this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzICMIu5zFY
> 
> Fallout New Vegas veterans should recognize it immediately. ;)

Black booted feet dug into the Arizona soil as Bellatrix dismounted her trusty steed and guided him towards the water trough. The black horse was eager for a drink and did so merrily. After tying Abacus to a post, she took a moment to stroke his neck and left him to enjoy a well-earned rest after a long trip.

Bellatrix made her way through town, her long Black duster swishing around her as she walked with her usual stride of confidence. As usual, the Arizona sun was bearing down upon this town, and she was once again grateful for the wide-brimmed black hat. Messy black curls spilled from her hat and over her duster: it had been a long time she had washed her hair and the Arizona dust had been accumulating. After a long ride, a wash or a long soak in a bath was just what she needed, along with a stiff drink of whiskey in the nearest saloon. These days, however, renting rooms above noisy saloons was a thing of the past.

She tipped her hat to Sherrif Moody when passing his office and he nodded in reply. Gruffly, of course, as was his way. But he knew what role she played in this ecosystem of pioneer life.

Castle Dome Landing was a bustling little town, nestled in between the Colorado River and the Castle Dome mountains. But there was gold in them there river and lead in them there hills, so new people looking for their fortune were always arriving and new buildings were always under construction. The town was always a little bit bigger every single time she returned. Miners with cash to spend attracted shopskeepers, barmen, entertainers, whores and preachers. And so the town grew. And grew. And grew.

Unfortunately, little boomtowns also attracted its fair share of low-lives who preyed upon the town folks and their wealth. That’s where Bellatrix came in.

Plenty of outlaws had a tendency to laugh when faced against her. And why shouldn't they? She was a diminutive, middle-aged woman clad in trousers and talking big about claiming the prize on their heads. Of course they'd laugh!

Well, they were often laughing on the other side of their face after she’d speedily drawn the big iron from her hip: a bullet through the brain had a tendency to stifle any mockery. Any one left standing after that would soon learn to fear her terrifying cackle.

Bellatrix was deadly and she knew it. As her reputation spread, the outlaws had come to know it was well. These days, she was actually bringing in more people alive than dead. Yet there were still those who took their chances… such as her latest bounty.

Her destination was the town schoolhouse near the end of the high street. It was an odd little wooden building, apparently a converted barn with a small bell-tower built on top of the roof which doubled as the town's fire-alarm. A porch-extension with a single door had been constructed within the frame of the old double doors and the school had been given proper flooring on the inside. In the back there was a playground for the kids to enjoy their breaktime.

Bellatrix simply opened the door and strolled right in. The heads of about twenty-five kids of various ages sat behind wooden desks in four rows all turned in unison. Grinning, she leaned in the doorway, having only eyes for the local schoolmarm. Clad in a bright blue prairie schooner dress and her lovely long brown hair cascading over her back from underneath a white bonnet, was Hermione Granger.

Twenty-five years younger than her and a force of nature.

Hermione was rather animatedly finishing her lesson about Europe holding her globe, one of her most prized possessions, in her hand. Of course, Hermione had spotted her and the twinkle in her eyes said it all. However, being the professional that she was, Hermione finished her lesson first.

A few minutes later and Bellatrix was almost knocked over by an avalanche of kids heading out into the streets for play, leaving her and Hermione alone in the school. Apparently, looking over the school's inventory, Hermione had bought new books and new shelving. It was actually starting to look like a proper school.

“How'd it go?” asked Hermione while going from desk to desk to push the seats into neat rows.

Bellatrix sauntered to the teacher's desk. “Texas Red is Texas Dead,” chuckled Bellatrix. “And Texas Ron is Texas Gone.”

“Two for the price of one?” asked Hermione.

“Was a happy coincidence to find the two siblings in one place. Used only one bullet, even,” Bellatrix grinned. “They were lined up so perfectly, I just couldn't pass up the chance.”

The bounty hunter's eye fell on a shiny red apple sat on the desk, reached over to grab it, brought it to her mouth and took a big bite out of it. Bellatrix chewed, rather enjoying the sweet taste when Hermione was suddenly upon her. “Hey!” she narrowed her eyes and snatched the apple from Bellatrix' hands. “Apple... for _teacher_.”

Bellatrix was about to say something when she felt a sharp sting on the back of her hand. Hermione had produced a ruler and had snapped at her with it. “Ow,” Bellatrix muttered. “You're getting pretty fast with that thing.”

Hermione raised her chin and tried to look serious and huffy. Only for her expression to break into a giggle before she flew into Bellatrix' arms. Their lips met and Bellatrix kissed her hungrily, invading Hermione's mouth until she tasted the softest of tongues. Hermione pressed her forehead against hers after breaking the kiss, still in a tight embrace. “I haven't seen you in weeks...” she whispered.

“Texas Red gave me the slip a couple of times,” Bellatrix said. “But it was for naught. There was no escape for her.”

The curly-haired bounty hunter grinned and fished a wad of bankrolls out of her pocket and nonchalantly threw it at Hermione. “Here,” she said. “For the school.”

The school was not funded by the town. It relied completely on donations and Hermione's strict and frugal money management. A lot of money from Bellatrix' work went to the school these days. And this had been a bigger score than most. Hermione took one look at the money blinked. “This... this...”

“Twenty-five hundred dollar in gold per head,” said Bellatrix. “Stopped by the bank in Yuma to exchange it for notes, put some in my savings account, subtracted some expenses and all that good stuff. The rest is for the school, like I said.”

Hermione shook her head. “That's... more than four thousand dollars. That's enough to keep us in operation for the next ten years! We... we could buy a nice blackboard. Bigger! And one that doesn't have a crack in it,” she exclaimed, her excitement quite infectious. A glance at the blackboard did indeed show off its sorry state: that crack only appeared to have gotten bigger.

Reality descended down upon Hermione quickly enough, though. “We... we can't have this much money in the school. What if...”

“Relax!” Bellatrix chuckled. “Nothing's going to happen with me here. We'll bring it to the Post Office later. Right now, I just want to get my boots off and relax a bit. It's been a long trip.”

Hermione smiled and took her by the hand, leading her to one of the school's storage rooms. Hermione was indeed frugal with money, as she wanted to spend as little money as possible on herself and as much as possible on the school. As such, Hermione didn't live in one of the town's houses, but in one of the two store-rooms of the school... the smallest of the two. And since Hermione lived here, so did Bellatrix.

It was cramped, barely fit a bed, a bookcase, a writing desk and a wash-basin, but being on the road so much she had slept in far worse spots than this. It would do for now.

The first thing she did was to take off her belt and to hang her big iron from the coat rack. Her boots and her duster followed suit. Soon enough, Bellatrix found herself lying on her stomach on the bed, her back exposed and head lain on the pillow. Hermione sat besides her on the bed. They had no bathtub, but the soothing sponge with cool water definitely a good alternative. She groaned in delight when the cold water washed away the sweat and grime which was a hazard of her job.

The sponge worked its way all over her body: her torse, her arms, her legs, and was soon replaced by hands which were soft as milk. Already, she was in heaven when those soft hands kneaded her shoulders, her back. Moaning contently, she arched her back, squirming when Hermione found some knots and slowly worked them loose with practiced hands.

Hermione.

Hermione had been a pleasant surprise. Bellatrix had found her as a kidnap victim by a group of desperado she had been hunting near Yuma. She almost hadn't taken the bounty as the low-lives were only $100 a head. Still, there were seven of them, so decided it might be worth her time after all. They had intended to make Hermione the gang's wife, but hot lead from Bellatrix' big iron literally changed their minds.

Hermione had surprised her by kissing her on the lips after being untied. Bellatrix had been with her ever since.

And now here Hermione was, turning a tough bounty hunter like her into putty underneath her touch. A smile crossed Bellatrix' lips when she heard a rustle of clothing and the sound of shoes dropping to the floor. She felt her hat being put on her head and she instinctively reached up to remove it again.

“No,” sounded a husky voice. “Leave it on.”

Bellatrix let out a brief cackle which turned into the swoon when she felt soft lips press down on the small of her back. Kisses full of want. Kisses full of desire. Hermione worked her way up the length of her spine, stopping ever so often to shift her body until she draped herself over Bellatrix. The warmth of her body, her soft skin on hers, was enough to make Bellatrix moan with pleasure. Part of her wanted to shout out to Hermione to stop teasing her while another part of her never wanted this to end.

She got her wish soon enough. Still draped over her, Hermione shifted a hand downward to sink between Bellatrix' legs. Two fingers entered her while merciless teeth latched on to the nape of her neck. Overcome with pleasure, the curly-haired bounty hunter let out a wail of satisfaction. Hermione found a steady rhythm and started thrusting, sinking to just the right depth and crooking at just the right angle. Good god, this girl knew just how to touch her in all the right ways.

Her breath quickened, her chest heaved and she bit down on the pillow to keep herself from screaming. Her nails dug into the mattress and her body trembled. Oh, how she'd missed her. How she had longed for her touch. Bellatrix had been with scores of women during her many travels: not one of them could even remotely compare to Hermione.

Brown hair spilled over her and she was lost. Her body shook, her legs kicked out. When the fog lifted from her brain, she found Hermione nibbling on one of her earlobes while sliding her hands over her back once more. With a growl, Bellatrix spun around and threw a giggling Hermione onto her back to start a vicious assault of her own.

In the scuffle, her hat had fallen off and Hermione swiftly grabbed it and put it on her head again.

It wouldn't save her from her revenge.

She assaulted Hermione's body with her lips. Her collar-bone, her breasts, her stomach. With a grin, she spread Hermione's legs and, though it was a bit awkward on this small bed in this tiny room, she found a good perch. It was fun to make Hermione writhe, to make this pretty little young schoolmarm moan with pleasure. To make her beg for more.

She even smacked Hermione with her own ruler a few times. On the bum, of course.

After what seemed like hours, the two lovers lay in each others arms, content and happy. Hermione reached out to stroke her curly-hair: Bellatrix had lost her hat in the scuffle and it landed across the room. Neither woman had been willing to get out of bed to fetch it.

“Bella?” Hermione asked.

Ah. That serious tone.

“Grey hairs,” she said. “You're getting on in years.”

Bellatrix snorted through her nose. “Gee, thank you very much.”

“I'm serious!” pressed Hermione. “You can't keep doing this forever. There's no such thing as an old bounty hunter.”

Bellatrix reached over to stroke Hermione's face. “I am!” she chuckled. “Granted, I'm the only one.”

“That just proves my point! I don't want to lose you.”

The curly-haired bounty hunter shrugged. “I don't know how to do anything else. What else could I even do?”

“Start a saloon. Or become a deputy. Moody would love to have you help keep order in town,” Hermione suggested.

“Picking up drunks off the saloon floor?” Bellatrix snorted. “Not exactly glamorous.”

Hermione took a moment to press her lips on hers. “You'll be alive. And with me.”

Bellatrix seemed thoughtful for a moment. “This world could use more people teaching kids how to read and less killers. I'm just here cull the herd of killers out here. Tell you what, though...”

“What?”

“If I do decide to retire, we won't be living here,” she motioned around. “In this broom closet. If I retire, we'll be buying one of those nice houses they're building on the outskirts of town and live there.”

Hermione cocked her head sideways. “Like a Boston Marriage?”

“Hah, more like an Arizona Hoedown. But, yeah, that's the gist of it.”

Hermione lay her head on her chest and sighed wistfully. “If that was an offer of marriage, that does sound rather appealing. Shame we can't get the real thing, though.”

“As far as I'm concerned,” replied Bellatrix. “We are. I don’t see myself with any other woman than you.”

Hermione pursed her lips. “I wonder what people will say if they knew about us...”

Bellatrix snorted and then laughed. Hermione raised her head to give her a questioning look. “We live in a small town with endless amount of busybodies and gossip-happy Church ladies. I assure you, everybody already knows about us! They're just not saying anything because, well, the big iron on my hip.”

“It's not even evening yet,” said Hermione. “What shall we do to spend the time?”

“First, Post Office to secure the money,” said Bellatrix. “Then, saloon for drinking, dancing and dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

It didn't take long for them to get dressed. When they were about to leave their living space, however, there was the sound of a gunshot outside. Immediately, Bellatrix was on the defensive. Another gunshot sounded and, this time, a bullet smashed its way through the wooden wall. Hermione yelped, but fright soon turned to anger.

“BLACK!” sounded a screeching high-pitched voice. “SHOW YOUR FACE, BLACK!”

Full of anger and foolheardiness, an outraged Hermione rushed to the front door of the school to confront whoever was outside before Bellatrix could stop her. Quickly, she followed after strapping her big iron to her hip and making sure the belt was secure. By the time she reached the front door, Hermione was already outside and shouting. “THIS IS A SCHOOL! There might have been children inside! _We_ were inside! What were you thinking?!”

“BLACK!” sounded the voice once more. “DON'T SEND OUT YOUR WHORE! SHOW YOUR FACE, COWARD!”

Bellatrix stepped through the door and brushed past an irate Hermione. The source of the voice was soon revealed to be an old acquaintance of hers. Short and stocky, the red haired woman was ablaze with anger.

“Ma Weasley,” Bellatrix muttered as she stepped out into the dusty road, hand already hovering over her big iron. She shot a deadly glare at the rotund Weasley matriarch. “No bounties on you. Walk always,” she hissed, her voice dangerous and low.

Ma Weasley was not deterred, however. “You killed my daughter, you bitch!”

Bellatrix never broke her gaze as the two women circled each other in the middle of the road. The bustle of the town grew silent. Dead silent. People gathered quietly and windows were opened from the buildings across the street for people to get a better look. They were gathering quite an audience already. “Bounty was open for everyone,” spoke Bellatrix. “Blame the Rangers, not me.”

“To hell with the Rangers! And to hell with you! You choose to take that bounty!” Ma Weasley snarled.

“And your daughter chose to rob stage coaches. And chose to torch that injun village up North. And chose to shoot those ranchers in the back out East,” Bellatrix narrowed her eyes. “Everyone gets what’s comin’ to ‘em when their time runs out.”

“Now it’s you who ran out of time,” Ma Weasley snarled in absolute anger, her hand hovering over her own revolver.

Bellatrix grinned at her. “What are you on about anyway? You’ve got plenty of spares,” she let out a low and brief cackle, smirking at her opponent. A few gasps went through quiet crowd and no doubt there were those wondering why she would provoke an already angry armed woman looking to kill. Well, there was method to her madness: taunts and mocks were just a much part of a duel as actual drawing and shooting was. A properly timed taunt could throw an opponent off balance which would give her an edge and Bellatrix could see by the way Ma Weasley’s jaw clenched and how her eyes twitched that she had achieved the desired effect.

Eye met eye.

Glare met glare.

Her hand shot down.

A gunshot broke the silence.

And it was over. The crowd gasped and some had started from the sudden noise. A few of the church-going busybodies were starting to faint. But was over.

Bellatrix’ big iron had settled the duel before Ma Weasley’s weapon even left the leather.

Ma Weasley fell to the dirt like a sack of potatoes, a red round wound now adorning the spot between her eyes. Ever the showboat, Bellatrix brought the barrel of her big iron to her mouth and blew away the smoke. After twirling it in her hand by the trigger guard for good measure before it found its home in its holster. “Right,” she spoke while turning back towards the school. “Show’s over folks.”

Immediately, the townfolks came rushing out to steal Ma Weasley’s shoes, gun, holster and whatever salvageable equipment they could get their hands on. Either the undertaker or the vultures could have the rest, she didn’t care.

Hermione was waiting for her in the door opening and Bellatrix smiled as she approached. “Ah, Smith & Wesson. My favorite law firm. Still a 100% success rate,” she joked. But Hermione wasn’t laughing. In fact, she looked deadly pale and somewhat shaken.

“What?” Bellatrix cocked her head sideway. “You’ve seen me shoot people before. In fact, I quite remember you cheering.”

“Yes,” Hermione stammered. “Desperados who hurt me. And were planning to rape me. And that didn’t happen in front of my own school! What if more of them turn up to take revenge? What then?” Hermione pouted slightly.

Bellatrix shrugged. “It’s likely. Weasleys breed like vermin,” she said, taking a final glance at the corpse of Ma Weasley, before grinning and tipping her hat. “Well, not so much anymore. But the point is, Weasleys ain’t smart. If Ma Weasley really wanted to get her revenge, she would have shot me in the back while I was in the saloon drinking. But she didn’t. She wanted to make it all a big showdown in the middle of town. She faced me head on and never realized that she would give me every advantage by doing so. That’s why I’m not worried. And why you shouldn’t be worried either. And even if they get lucky, well, you have access to my bank account and all my savings will be yours.”

“I don’t want your savings!” Hermione pouted. “I want you! With me! In one of those nice houses they’re building on the edge of town!”

Bellatrix tipped her head, smirking at her young love. “So you're saying yes to the Boston Marriage thing, then?”

Hermione let that sink in for a moment and then smiled. “I think I just did.”

“Good,” Bellatrix chuckled. “I'll mop up the rest of the Weasley clan first, if it makes you feel any better. Will net us some extra cash for the school too.”

“Fair enough,” Hermione laughed and briefly embraced her. They held the embrace until someone scraped their throat behind her. After turning around, it was revealed that Sherrif Moody had turned up. One eye covered by a patch, his pock-marked face was set in a permanent frown while his star-shaped badge glinted in the sun.

“Black is back in town, I see,” he pointed his chin towards the now picked-clean corpse of Ma Weasley. “And here I was enjoying a fine quiet day. Care to come to the office for a bit, Black? Answer a few questions. Clear up this mess. It'll just take a moment.”

“Fine,” she sighed. “I know the drill.”

Bellatrix gave Hermione a quick wave goodbye, she walked next to Moody, sauntering through the high street.

“Boston Marriage, eh?”

“You heard that?” Bellatrix asked.

“Nah,” he replied. “Talk of the town.”

“Ah.”

“She's a good woman,” said Moody.

“She is.”

“Don't fuck it up.”

“I won't,” said Bellatrix. “I'll hang up my gun for her.”

“There's always one, isn't there?” Moody chuckled. “We've both lived longer than we should have, Black. Time to cut your losses like I did.”

“Do you ever miss it?” asked Bellatrix.

“All the time,” Moody smirked. “And so will you.”

Together, the ex-bounty hunter and soon to be ex-bounty hunter entered the sheriff's office where they would take care of the paperwork. Afterwards, they would raise a glass of whiskey on the good days, both old and new yet to come.


End file.
